The present invention relates to marking equipment and, more particularly, to a tag feed system for use in a marking system that is used to mark and label information on tags, and to a laser marking system that employs the feed system. The feed system is designed to feed tags through the marking system reliably and efficiently and to decrease the incidence of tag jams and misfeeds as the tags are moving through the feed system, while, additionally, providing for ease of maintenance and manufacture, and adaptability of the feed system and, therefore, of the marking system, for use with tags of differing width.
Laser marking systems that mark information on tags are known in the art, and are especially useful in marking information on high temperature tags that are used in high temperature environments in steel mills. It is also known in the art to use a feed system in a laser marking system to drive tags through the marking system for marking. Conventional feed systems used in tag marking systems (see attached drawing figure marked "PRIOR ART") are basically adaptations of well-known feed systems used in paper printing. The feed system shown in the drawing marked "PRIOR ART" has been used in a known laser marking system that marks metal tags These conventional feed systems are comprised of many components and are, therefore, usually quite costly to manufacture, assemble and maintain.
Additionally, because conventional feed systems employ many components, and because of the inherent complexities therewith, known feed systems are not products that the customers themselves can easily and independently maintain and repair. Personnel with specialized knowledge of the feed systems are needed for virtually all of the maintenance and repair requirements, however minor they may be. Oftentimes, the entire feed system itself must be disassembled to repair or replace a component as basic and simple as a belt, for example. Therefore, maintenance and repair of conventional feed systems are not only time-consuming but also require a fair degree of skill, for which personnel attempting to repair conventional feed systems must be trained.
Also, known feed systems must be oriented in a particular alignment within the printing machines or marking systems for proper operability, which requires the use of specialized equipment for installation of the systems. Therefore, most customers cannot themselves remove a malfunctioning feed system, and replace it with an "on-hand" operable feed system to avoid having the printing machine or marking system "shut down".
Further, because conventional laser marker feed systems are basically adaptations of paper printer feed systems, the tag pathway of conventional feed systems, that is, the path along which the tag must travel in order to be marked, can be relatively long, sometimes as long as five feet or longer. This long tag pathway, combined with the fact that the tags may not be continuously guided as they pass along the tag pathway, increases the chance that tags may run askew or jam as they are passing through the marking machine and being marked. Such jamming of tag material may decrease overall productivity of the laser marking machine, and may also cause damage to components of the feed system, which components may then need to be repaired or replaced.
Further, due in part to the large number of components in and the complexity of these feed systems, conventional feed systems are not readily adjustable for operation with tags of different widths. Therefore, customers must use tags of a particular width with particular marking machines, or contend with the arduous task of converting the feed system for use with tags of another width. This may require disassembly of the feed system, with many of the parts requiring replacement.
Finally, in order for a laser marking machine to be effective and efficient, the laser must be sealed so that the laser beam cannot escape and burn or damage an object or person. Thus, it is important to maintain light sealing within laser printers. With conventional feed systems, the feed system itself cannot be sealed shut because the tags must be inserted into the feed system, and then clamped and secured into place by "locking" the tag drive wheels in order that the tags may pass along the tag pathway. The inability to seal the feed system inevitably contributes to a loss in light sealing, and a degradation of the laser rating of the marking machine.
There exists, therefore, a need for a feed system for a marking system for tags, that can be easily manufactured and maintained, that can be adapted to tags of different widths, that can enhance the light sealing of the marking machine in which it is used, and that can provide reliable and efficient feeding of tags through the marking system.